Resource Center

Aussie news sites hacked

Australian news websites run by News Limited and the Special Broadcasting Service have recently been hacked, exposing users to malware.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the website of News Limited paper The Herald Sun was recently compromised by a cyber criminal who embedded a link to a malicious software download. In a statement to the Morning Herald, the Herald Sun's Digital Operations and Business Strategy Director Peter Clark said the computer security breach had been fixed. He explained no further information about the attack would be released to guard against such information being used to create new exploits.

Just a few days after the Morning Herald attack, the Special Broadcasting Service acknowledged its news site had been compromised by a very similar intrusion. SBS said some users had been directed to a link leading to a malicious website. SBS said it resolved the issue, but recommended users scan their computers using antivirus software. A Google diagnostic test found that during the last 90 days, 25 of 48 SBS pages tested led to malware being installed without user consent.

A recent Sydney Morning Herald investigation revealed more than 10,000 wireless networks in Sydney could be unsecured, posing a serious internet security risk.